With the takeover of Crimea by masked Russian soldiers without national insignia in February/March 2014, with the Kremlin at first denying its involvement, war became „hybrid“ in our minds. The follow-on conflict in eastern Ukraine further strengthened the perception of a hybrid way of warfare, raising the question: What is hybrid warfare? This article argues that the specific nature of hybrid warfare is a strategic one and can be identified by three main characteristics or tendencies: 1. Focusing the decision of the war/conflict as such primarily on a non-military center of gravity. 2. Operating in the shadow of different interfaces against specific vulnerabilities of the opponent, thus challenging traditional lines of order and responsibilities. 3. Creative combination and parallel use of different concepts, methods and means of warfare and fighting, hereby creating “new” mixed, hybrid forms.
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